Learn Exposure Basics with Canon outside of AUTO

Beginners grappling with the mystery of shutter-speed, aperture & ISO will heave a sigh of relief. Canon has introduced an interactive website which goes through all these elements in a lucid & entertaining manner.

Canon outside of Auto is a website where Canon urges users to get outside of auto mode by teaching the ropes of the manual mode by clever use of animation. You can first read about the elements of the exposure triangle & then with the knowledge try your hand at the inbuilt DSLR simulator. It’s unlike other simulators around the web & give detailed report about the shot you clicked. It mentions what you did correctly in the shot & also what you did not.

Amateurs to DSLR camera will find it challenging to take on the challenge against the clock wherein one is given different targets to achieve as quickly as possible. What’s more, there is also a glossary of the technical mambo-jumbo which can be pulled out from left corner.

Once the beginners learn these technique, they can practice in the real world. The transition will be easier. No more fear of the manual mode. This is really a great resource for those who has just got a DSLR/Prosumer camera but never ventured out of auto mode due to lack of knowledge of exposure basics.

Learn Photography Basics with Right Click on your Android Smartphone

When I was starting in Photography, I had no clue as to how shutter-speed, aperture & ISO affect the exposure. I had no idea as to why or when to one open up aperture or to raise or lower the ISO. Gradually with trial & errors along-with some reading up, I got grasp over these three elements of the exposure triangle. As the adage goes, when your basics are strong you can make better progress. I often feel most amateur photographers just blindly shoot without learning these basics as they feel them to be boring. Its partly true but that does not mean one should ignore them as every great photographer has these three elements deep sculpted in his mind. With “Right Click”, one can now no longer make any excuses for learning the ABC’s of Photography.

Right Click is an Android application which teaches you the basics of photography. It has two modes – View Mode & Read Mode. Under View mode, one can see the effects of change in aperture, ISO & shutter-speed. All illustrated by amazing visualizations. Under read mode, you can read in brief about them. The best thing about this app is the camera interface which mimics the Canon & Nikon DSLR’s screens so beginners will feel right at home. Apart from the basics, the app also briefs you on various genres of photography which I recommend reading. If you’re a beginner chances are that you’ve not yet found the genre of your liking in photography. Even if you’re not, each genre lists some handy tips which will help you shoot the particular genre with ease.

With the popularity of Android smart-phones, this application will find many takers. However there are a few typos within the read mode which need to be resurrected by the developers. Further I would like the application to provide some challenges to users like throwing up a scene & letting users set the ISO, exposure, aperture for the same. Furthermore expanding on the read mode will be a great addition. Also when user goes into read mode, the orientation changes from landscape to portrait which can be irritating. Else nothing much to complain. This tiny application will come very handy for someone starting with manual photography. And did I say, it offers all this for Free? If you’re beginner in photography & have an Android smart-phone, Right Click is an app you should definitely install.

Sunset – A Timelapse

Timelapse videos are fantastic to show the occurrence of an event stretching in time in just a few seconds of time. It leaves the viewer spellbound & makes him need to watch more such videos. However, timelapse videos need concrete planning & execution to impress the viewers.

Having being into photography for a while now, I decided to give timelapse a try. I call it a try since I did not have the equipment required in order to shoot a good timelapse video. One requires a sturdy tripod & a remote release or an intervalometer(within the camera) to make timelapse videos easy. I was with a cheap tripod, which basically is not certified to even pull the weight of a low end DSLR with basic kit lens. To make matters murkier, I did not have a remote release nor intervalometer. Still I decided to give it a shot.

I went to the location & camped up with my DSLR set on to the tripod. As passersby gave me curious glances, I took my wrist watch from my wrist in my left hand & with other started gunning shots with an interval of 10 seconds in between. I continued doing this for almost 40 minutes, till the sun went down & the twilight dying out. Towards the fag end of my journey, I had waves reaching the bottom of my tripod & I was standing now with my right hand index finger still on the shutter button. The waves displaced the sand beneath the tripod legs with each visit causing it(tripod) to shift everytime. Further, the flimsy tripod could not stand still however gently I released the shutter. The outcome, a slight moment in the frame during the video.

What do you feel? What could have been improved here? Any tips? Let me know your views in the comments. Would be happy to implement them next time around. 🙂

Venturing into Video : Mumbai at Night

I’ve confessed before that apart from Photography, I have a keen interest in Cinematography too. Offcourse, I’m a photographer first but have a urge to learn about the wonderful world of Video/Film-Making & create good short films. Since investing in an video camera is not a budget solution, I would be learning to make videos on DSLR camera’s which offer more than decent quality. For time-being, I don’t have a DSLR but I always thought of making a short film just to make myself happy & improve on my filming skills. Left with no option but my Canon Powershot SX100 IS still camera, I decided to film a short film on it.

Make Abstract Photographs with Out-Of-Focus Photography

Every photographer craves for razor images. Have you ever wondered out of focus images can sometimes be good than razor sharp ones? Fascinated with blur in digital photography, I thought what if I blur the subject? I love the kind of hazy cinematography portrayed in movies showing the vision of a drunken character. I thought if it did wonders on video it should do the same in still photography too. I went ahead & the results were a treat to watch.